Dentures – Waverly, IA

Effects of Missing Teeth

Being able to perform everyday tasks like everyone else isn’t so easy when living without a full set of teeth. Eating certain foods, speaking without slurring, and smiling freely are things most people take for granted, but someone with missing teeth may find that these become precious desires that are no longer possible.

When teeth are no longer in their appropriate place, the jawbone experience resorption. This means that over time, with no tooth root to provide stimulation, it begins to shrink. As a result, the face can begin to sag, and additional teeth can become loose because of a loss of blood flow to the jawbone.

What Qualifies You for Dentures?

If dentures are what you are thinking about pursuing to replace your missing teeth, you’ll first need to meet with a qualified denture dentist. This meeting will require a full examination of your smile as well as your jawbone and a discussion about your overall health.

Gum disease and any existing decay must be treated before dentures can be placed, and if certain teeth are considered at risk for falling out, our team will likely recommend extraction.

The good news is that most individuals will find that dentures are a viable option. Whether they are possible right away or after preliminary treatments are provided, we can make sure that you get the kind of smile you’ve been dreaming about.

Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options

In the case that dentures are not the path you choose to take, there are other options that you may find to be better suited to meet your needs. These include:

• Dental Bridges – Crafted from two dental crowns and artificial replacement teeth also known as pontics, a dental bridge will fill in the gaps of missing consecutive teeth. The prosthetic is secured to healthy abutment teeth that serve as anchors so that you can enjoy life with a complete smile.
• Dental Implants – Relying on titanium implant posts that look similar to tooth roots, these prosthetics are placed into the jaw to create a solid support system for your new denture. Instead of relying on natural suction, the prosthetic is attached to the implant posts, offering a permanent solution to tooth loss.

Lifelike in Look and Feel

Simply put, the field of dentistry and technology in general have progressed significantly in the last decade alone. As a result, modern dentures are extremely lifelike in look and feel! That’s because they are custom-made for each patient, ensuring the restoration fits their unique dental needs and aesthetic goals perfectly. Plus, the durable materials used ensure that dentures don’t compromise on strength or function either.

Clearer Enunciation

Following tooth loss, you might notice that it’s more difficult to enunciate clearly. That’s because your tongue makes a series of distinct movements against the back of your teeth to form sounds. As a result, even a small gap in your smile can make communicating more difficult. The good news is that dentures can fill the empty spaces in your smile. In fact, they can even replace an entire arch of missing teeth, which improves your confidence as well as your communication!

Improves Nutrition

Another downside of tooth loss is that it makes it difficult to eat a well-balanced, varied diet. Fortunately, dentures can strengthen your bite, allowing you to eat fresh fruits, cooked vegetables, and other nutrient-dense foods with ease. That means that you’re less likely to experience indigestion, malnutrition, and other problems that can negatively impact your overall health too!

Cost-Effective

In short, dentures are one of the most cost-effective tooth-replacement options. In fact, even implant dentures have the potential to be the best choice for your wallet in the long run! Plus, many dental insurance providers cover a portion of the cost, which makes them even more affordable. If you’re interested in getting a price estimate, you’re more than welcome to schedule a consultation with our Waverly dental team so we can give you a general range if not a precise number.

Extremely Versatile

Hands down, one of the biggest benefits of dentures is how versatile they are. To start, the size, shape, and shade of each replacement tooth is custom-made, ensuring they look incredibly natural. Dentures can also replace a few missing teeth, an entire arch of teeth, or every single tooth, which means that patients at all stages of tooth loss can rely on this tooth-replacement solution.

Preserves Oral Health

It’s common for patients to assume that replacing a missing tooth is optional, especially if the gap isn’t visible when they smile. In reality, tooth loss can lead to several problems if left unaddressed, like dental drift. This is when the teeth surrounding the gap start to move into the open space, negatively impacting the strength of your bite and the alignment of your teeth in the process. Don’t worry – dentures can help prevent that from happening too!

Remove After Eating

Firstly, you should remove and rinse your dentures after any meals. Sticking to this habit will remove plaque and other “leftovers” built up from eating and drinking. From there, you’ll have a much lower risk of oral issues like gum disease.

For these rinses, you mustn’t use hot water. The fact is that high temperatures can warp denture material, distorting the fit over time. This effect would force you to get a replacement that costs time and money.

Clean Your Restoration

You should also perform once-daily cleanings on your dentures. Through these sessions, you’d remove the plaque and bacteria that a rinse would miss.

A typical denture cleaning doesn’t really take much. All in all, you just need to brush your prosthetic (after removing it) with a soft-bristled toothbrush. The only wrinkle is that you should use liquid soap instead of normal toothpaste; the latter is abrasive for dentures. Otherwise, just remember to rinse the dentures before returning them to your mouth.

Keep Your Dentures Safe

As durable as modern dentures are, even they can break at times. An accident or some rough handling would be enough to damage their material. Given that fact, please keep your dentures safe from harm.

Various methods could help you with denture protection. For example, place a towel in your sink while cleaning them; the cloth would cushion them from falls. You could also keep your dentures away from little kids or pets.

Remove Dentures When You Sleep

Sleeping with your dentures may sound harmless, but you should try to avoid it. Instead, remove your restorations before bed and soak them in a solution overnight.

The core issue is that constant denture use isn’t good for you. If you always wear your prosthetics, you’ll restrict your gums’ circulation and irritate your mouth tissues. Using dentures while asleep would also increase your tongue plaque levels, making gum disease more likely. You’d even face a higher risk of pneumonia!

Notice Changes

If you want your dentures to work well, you’ll need to monitor them and your mouth for changes. Various issues related to your new teeth – mouth sores, gum irritation, etc. – could require dental care.

In particular, always visit a local dentist for repairs if your dentures get damaged. Attempting a “DIY” fix could further harm the prosthetics and put your oral health at risk. On the other hand, Dr. Smiley has the expertise and skill to reline or replace your dentures.